The present invention relates generally to musical instruments, and more particularly, to a percussive shaker instrument. A typical musical shaker is comprised of a hollow container having a number of relatively small percussive media such as metal shot, plastic beads, or even seeds or small stones disposed therein. The most noteworthy of these is the Maraca which, in its original form, was simply a dried gourd filled inside with seeds and a handle attached to one end of the gourd. This instrument was made popular in the 1930's and 1940's by Havana-based bands who used them extensively for their driving Latin rhythms. In its more modern iteration, the Maraca is typically fabricated from a plastic material, albeit still in the traditional gourd shape. There are also many other types of shakers which are presently available in the art and widely used in various musical venues.
The manner in which a shaker instrument is used is simple and well-known. The instrument is played by moving it rapidly from one spatial position to another. The percussive media (beads, shot, etc.) occupy a relatively small proportion of the internal volume of the instrument and alternatively travel between the internal walls of the container. Sounds are produced when the media impacts the container walls and itself, thereby generating vibrations sympathetic to the container's size, shape and material. When this action is repeated in the hands of a skilled player, the sound produced becomes rhythmic and adds excitement and dimension to the ambient music. Most shakers produce percussive effects which fall within the upper half of the audio spectrum, from about 6000 Hz and up. In a high fidelity system, the sounds generated by the shaker are reproduced primarily by the tweeter, with some of the more pronounced musical attacks being found in the mid-range transducer.
Trial and error experimentation demonstrates that in the optimum configuration, the percussive media should travel a distance of between approximately three (3) to five (5) inches between striking the opposite walls of the longitudinal extent of the container. This dimension reflects a balance between playability and the desired volume of sound to be produced. The greater the distance the media must travel, the longer the amount of time it is able to accelerate, and the consequent inertial increase produces a greater martial crash of the media and thus a higher sound volume. Too long a travel distance, however, results in a two-fold disadvantage. A relatively large distance limits the player's ability to rapidly reverse the direction of travel and prevents rapid repeat movements, which in turn limits musical expression. A more subtle disadvantage is most apparent when several players attempt to play in unison. When the media becomes airborne during the travel time, it prevents the player from obtaining perceptible feedback through the instrument as to the location of the media vis-a-vis the walls of the container. Several popular prior art shakers are constructed from tubing in the neighborhood of four (4) inches in diameter and approximately ten (10) inches in length. Because of this relatively large travel distance, and as these are primarily played from side to side, they do not have good control characteristics and therefore require increased player skill to properly manipulate. These disadvantages are directly addressed by and are overcome in the shaker disclosed and claimed herein in accordance with the present invention.